Water Cooler Talk

A common topic of conversation towards the beginning of a work or school day a person might have with co-workers or fellow students/teachers often centers around what people did the evening or night before.  I find that I am typically evasive with my answers because I am fully aware that what I did last night is outside the experience and, often, understanding of a large portion of the population.

If you want to make a connection with the people around you at the water cooler, you need to choose something that most of them can relate to.  For example, a very high percentage can probably see themselves sitting down to watch a television show or a movie at some point during the evening.  So, comparing and discussing shows is a pretty safe way to get into a conversation that is relatable.

You can fairly quickly turn the flow of conversation on or off depending on what you decide to share regarding WHAT you watched, of course.  If you're into some of the currently popular shows, then you'll have a wider appeal for a more animated conversation.  If you pick something like an old British comedy called Good Neighbors, you're going to have to do a fair amount of explaining - and there's no telling how long people will stick around the water cooler to see if they want to learn more about it.

Another really good topic that everyone can relate to at some level is to share what you had for dinner.  Although, you might find the audience will dwindle as you get into the nitty gritty details as to HOW you went about securing or making that dinner.

Another popular subject area that you can talk about is something your kids (or grandkids) did or are doing.  Those who do not have children might check out a bit on that conversation, though I suspect they will nod politely.  But, if you REALLY want to get people to nod politely - while looking a bit dazed - you can tell them that you moved your current laying hen flock from the room in the Poultry Pavilion to the portable Summer Cottage.

Only a very select portion of the population in our world today can fully relate to the idea of moving hens from one location to another on a small (or even larger) farm.  And that's why I often find myself mumbling words like "oh, nothing much," when someone makes the polite inquiry about what I did last night.  Or, I simply make the bold statement, "We moved the hens from one location to another one."  People around the cooler can take it at face value or not.  

It's just that this approach runs the risk that one of those folks are going to ask me to explain what I mean by that.  And that is when the fun begins.

How much can I explain before it becomes obvious that it was only a polite request and the person really did NOT want to know all the details about spreading straw in the portable building we call the Summer Cottage?  They probably did not want to know how we had to wait until dusk to grab the birds from their perches - and chase several of them into corners - so we could put them into that building.  I suspect they're not interested in how we had to mow down an area for the portable electric fence or how we set that fence up.  

And I know they don't want details about sweat dripping down the tip of my nose.

So, go ahead.  Ask me what I did last night and I'll tell you.

Oh, nothing much.